


the shadowy corners of me

by alex_archer



Category: Borderlands
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, Non-Canon Relationship, mentions of jack, post-surgery timothy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-26
Updated: 2016-01-26
Packaged: 2018-05-16 08:53:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5822308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alex_archer/pseuds/alex_archer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Timothy braves a moment in the Hub of Heroism, wandering around with a coffee until he bumps into someone he knew a long time ago.<br/>---------<br/>Requested by an anon on Tumblr - Rhys/Tim: They knew each other before Tim's contract with Jack. During that time, Tim had developed a huge crush on Rhys. Post-surgery, it's hard for Tim to come across Rhys on Helios without Tim becoming a blushy mess.</p>
            </blockquote>





	the shadowy corners of me

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from this song, which I also listened to while writing this; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyTwC3CbcxU
> 
> You can find this work on tumblr; http://hawketrash.tumblr.com/post/138068710097/rhystim-they-knew-each-other-before-tims

Timothy wandered around the Hub of Heroism with his coffee, his hood up and sunglasses on. He wondered how many people thought it was weird for someone to not only wear sunglasses on a space station, but to also wear a scarf, sweater, and sweatshirt. It’s not like he cared what anyone on this damned station thought, but drawing attention to himself was exactly what he wanted to avoid. Jack didn’t like when he was seen around Helios, keeping Timothy cooped up in that apartment until he needed him planetside or something. There was only so much time Tim could spend alone, sometimes he just needed to be around other people.

He was never like this before the surgery. After the behavior ‘adjustments’ he underwent at the request of Jack, he found himself involuntarily craving human contact. Not as severely as Jack, however, but still. Timothy did this about once per month, getting coffee and just wandering Helios. This time he’d worked up the courage to stay in the Hub, hoping he wouldn’t draw too much attention.

Unfortunately, he’d spent too much time keeping his head down, he didn’t watch where he was going. Colliding with another body, Timothy’s coffee burst between them and soaked the fronts of both of their shirts. The other man swore and started frantically wiping at his chest, not helping his situation any. Without thinking, Timothy immediately began to apologize.

“Oh, I am so sorry. I- I’ll grab napkins, hold on!” Timothy awkwardly ran to the coffee stand and back. He started wiping at the other man’s chest, doing his best to dry off the hot liquid. He was so engrossed in the task that he didn’t even notice who’s chest he was wiping.

“I know that voice, who are you?” The other man’s voice was surprising, and Timothy couldn’t stop him before he pulled Tim’s hood down. As soon as the nicely waxed brown and gray locks were exposed, the other man stepped back and suddenly he was apologizing to Timothy. “I am so sorry, sir. Let me get more napkins, H- Handsome Jack, sir.” It was then that Timothy really stopped fussing about and noticed who he’d run into. The other man was a bit older, but still incredibly recognizable. His yellow cybernetic arm was very contrasted next to the bright blue button-up and black vest.

“No, Rhys! I’m not him, I’m me,” Timothy spoke, a confused look spreading across Rhys’ face. At least it replaced the terror that had flooded Rhys’ face when he had put to and to together. Tim was used to that look when people saw his face after the surgery, but he’d never seen it on Rhys’ face before. To reiterate his point, Timothy pulled down his scarf and took off his sunglasses to reveal the face that frequently visited in both Timothy’s nightmares and Rhys’ fantasies, sans the scar or infamous mask. “It’s Timothy, Rhys, do you remember me?”

“I- I don’t understand. You’re no him, Timmy was shorter. You’re  _ him _ , Handsome Jack,” Rhys spoke, stepping closer to Timothy. Rhys’ blue eye started to glow, indicating his intent to scan Tim.

“You won’t find anything, Rhys. I’m top secret,” Timothy fought back the urge to act like Jack, more specifically to not act like a jackass. He was startled when Rhys’ hand reached out to touch his face, gently at first then beginning to press and examine him. Timothy couldn’t help but feel his cheeks flush under Rhys’ touch, he avoided eye contact at all costs.

“You’ve got his freckles. Timothy had freckles, they were the cutest thing. He got them as a kid, he grew up on-”

“Eden 6,” Timothy finished. “I grew up on Eden 6, moved to Helios as an Intern. We were interns t-together in marketing.”

“You used to leave me little post-its with tech jokes on them! We were the only ones who understood that stuff, it was hilarious!” Rhys’ voice raised, his smile spreading across his face. Just like that, Timothy was swooning all over again. “It’s been six years, Timmy, where have you been? What  _ happened _ to you?”

“I- I can’t tell you, but it’s still me,” Timothy’s voice was sad, he wanted nothing more than to tell Rhys everything.

“I understand, most of life around Hyperion is like that. We should get a coffee sometime, to catch up! I’ll buy you a new one to replace the one I spilled,” Rhys gestured to the stain on his shirt.

“I’d like that, I- heh… I always wanted to ask you back when we were interning,” Timothy confessed.

“You should have, I would have said ‘yes’,” Rhys replied with a smile, reaching for Timothy’s hand. The cybernetics were cool in Timothy’s fingers, and he was glad Rhys couldn’t feel how clammy Tim’s palm was. A warmth spread in his chest, and his blush got deeper. Suddenly, Timothy was very aware of the small crowd that had gathered around them, but Jack be damned, he would not miss this a second time.

“It’s a date,” Timothy confirmed before he leaned forward and fervently pressed his lips against Rhys’, completely ignoring the onslaught of flashes going off around them.

**Author's Note:**

> Please Kudo, Comment, Bookmark... It's how I know there's other trash like me out there... In the void...
> 
> Find me over on tumblr at either connortemple.tumblr.com or hawketrash.tumblr.com


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